DWF makes the most of resources

State Treasurer John Kennedy's contribution to the Perspectives column in Sunday's The News-Star (Louisiana: A consultants' paradise) lambasted state agencies for questionable use of state funds for thousands of contracts for things that should not be on our priority list when essential services such as health care, education and infrastructure are facing budget cuts.

As examples, he lists over a dozen state contracts with dollar amounts and names the state department paying for the services provided.

The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries is listed as the agency expending funds for a $10,000 contract sponsoring Chimpanzee Discovery Days and $6.8 million for a statewide multimedia public awareness campaign to educate the citizens of Louisiana about the effects of litter.

In the first instance, Mr. Kennedy's fact checker was simply wrong. The Chimpanzee Days contract was issued through the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

The public awareness campaign on litter was a multiyear contract that DWF assumed when the Office of Environmental Education was moved under DWF's control in 2008. The annual contract with Keep Louisiana Beautiful collectively accounts for $6,230,382 in expenditures over this eight-year period. The highest annual expenditure during DWF's tenure as contract manager was $717,000.

Litter is a serious problem in this state, and we took the litter abatement assignment very seriously. DWF assists the Keep Louisiana Beautiful program with that law enforcement effort annually, linking with other state and local enforcement units to attempt to stop the blight on our beautiful state. Public awareness includes the use of billboards, radio and television public service announcements, community action grants, school recycling programs, plus overtime pay to keep officers of the law in the field to fight the problem with boots on the ground. The funding is dedicated to mobilize a multifaceted, litter abatement effort.

The funding comes from a $1 fee that all citizens pay when renewing their driver's license once every 4 years, which equates to 25 cents per year per driver.

Mr. Kennedy asserts that this is a waste of state funds. I believe these goal-specific, dedicated funds are well spent on a serious problem that inhibits economic growth when corporate entities come for site visits and tourists visit to see the sites.

I'd use additional funds to eradicate the litter problem, if I had them. Right now, we'll use what the dedicated fund provides and make the most of those resources.

Robert Barham

secretary, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and FisheriesBaton Rouge

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DWF makes the most of resources

State Treasurer John Kennedy's contribution to the Perspectives column in Sunday's The News-Star (Louisiana: A consultants' paradise) lambasted state agencies for questionable use of state funds for